Bristol Bears Women found their season’s pulse again on Sunday, edging Sale Sharks Women 30–29 at Shaftesbury Park with the very last kick of the match. In a game that never stopped swinging, Keira Bevan held her nerve in the 82nd minute and put Bristol back in the win column the hard way.
The first half belonged to Sale. They played in the right areas, asked repeat questions of Bristol’s edge defence, and went into the break 22–10 up — a 12-point cushion that felt deserved in the moment.
What makes the result so striking is how the numbers still scream “Sharks.” Sale finished with 64% possession and 74% territory, nearly doubled Bristol’s carries (149 to 72), and outgained them in metres (469 to 332). And yet, Bristol were the ones who kept turning pressure into points.
Bristol’s second-half identity looked different: more stubborn, more patient, and a lot sharper when the game broke into fragmented space. They didn’t need to live in Sale’s 22 all afternoon — they needed to strike cleanly when they got there, and they did.
A big part of that shift came through the middle. The return of Meryl Smith at centre brought bite and clarity, and the early signs of a partnership alongside Ruahei Demant gave Bristol a calmer set of hands when the match started to unravel into chaos.
Discipline mattered, too — the kind that doesn’t show up as a highlight, but decides the rhythm. Bristol had to manage a first-half yellow card of their own, but they also made the most of Sale’s time down a player in the second half, building momentum instead of waiting for it.
This wasn’t a low-scoring grind; it was a full-contact trade. Five tries each meant both teams were finishing chances, but the fine print was where Bristol stayed alive: they matched Sale’s try count, added the decisive penalty, and made sure the last meaningful decision was theirs.
Bevan and Ella Lovibond put real dents in the comeback, and by the time the match reached that late, breathless stretch, you could feel the game tilting toward whoever blinked first. Sale had enough ball to close it. Bristol had enough steel to keep believing.
And then it came down to a kick. Bevan stepped up after the clock had gone red and sent it through to seal a one-point win — the kind that doesn’t just change a table, it changes a dressing room. Bristol won 30–29. Sale left with the hollow feeling of dominating the map and losing the story.
